Do Cashback Websites Really Save You Money?

With rising VAT and the effects of Brexit yet to be known, millions of people are feeling the squeeze when it comes to their finances. Plenty of us are looking for ways to save on the spending, and some are even taking out personal loans or guarantor loans in order to stay afloat. A great way to make money whilst you spend is to utilise the services of a cashback website.

Cashback sites have been around for some time now and aim to do what they say on the tin, give you “cash back” as you shop. The way they work is that they essentially pay you a small amount when you click on a retailer or product provider through the cashback site and spend with that retailer or product provider – you must spend to get the cashback.

Look at it like this, if you spend £10 on a train ticket, and a cashback website id offering you 10% cashback, you will get a return of £1. The bigger the price and/or the bigger the percentage, the more cashback. We are going to give you the rundown on everything to do with cashback websites and whether they can save you money.

The UK’s most popular cashback websites

TopCashback – for the supermarket, insurance, retail and travel cash back purposes.

Quidco – for the supermarket, insurance, retail and travel cash back purposes.

EarnAway – specific for hotel and travel bookings

How do cashback sites work?

Instead of a consumer shopping directly through an online shopping store, you can access the retailer via a cashback website such as Quidco or Topcashback. These websites get paid by the brands to feature them on their website and for ‘referring’ you. A click through and purchase will make money for the website which referred you. Think of it like affiliate marketing.

You will receive your cashback via the cashback website, whichever one that may be, and this can take anywhere between 7-10 working days. In some cases, it can take a period of up to six months with more complex products like travel or financial products. The whole way through the money’s journey, you will be able to track it on your online account. When it arrives into your account, you can then go ahead and transfer it to your actual bank account.

What is in it for the consumer? – is it worth it?

To put it quite frankly, money. The idea is that you make money whilst you spend online. In fact, TopCashBack claims to have a payout rate of 7% which means that if you spend £100 with a retailer through the sit, you should receive no less than £7.07 of that money back. TopCashBack claims that their members should be earning a cool £325 a year on their spending, meanwhile Quidco boast a £280 in earnings over the course of the year.

If you use a cashback site enough, it can prove very worthy! Even just on a singular purchase, you are essentially getting a discount on that purchase just by using a free, online cashback service. Therefore, you can save some serious money on cashback sites if you use it for purchases that you were always going to make. Do not fall into the trap of spending to make money, as this way you will not be saving on anything.

Things you might not know you can claim on

People often associate cashback websites with clothing stores and the like, but what other things can you claim your cashback from? All the information here is courtesy of TopCashBack:

MOT your car – You can MOT your car with Kwik Fit and receive 8.4% of your money back when you go through TopCashBack.

Selling your car – You will be offered £52.50 in cashback for every car you sell with webuyanycar.com

Writing your will – On internetwill.com you can expect 26.25% in cashback.

Selling your home – You will be offered £65 cashback on the instructed sale of a property and a free valuation as conducted by YOPA. YOPA allows people to sell a property with a fixed fee rather than a percentage held to the property.

Taking out a gym membership – TopCashBack offers 17.25% cashback with an additional 20% off a monthly pass with PayasUgym.com.

Earning Cashback in Stores

Cashback is not just for online purchases, you can also earn cashback on the high street thanks to websites like Quidco’s Clicksnap and Checkoutsmart.

In the case of stores, all you have to do is scan a picture of your receipt through their website or on an online app. Then you just wait until the money comes into your account.